BLOOMBERG - The world’s biggest oil buyer imported 9.64 million barrels a day in April, according to data released by Beijing-based General Administration of Customs on Tuesday. That’s about 4 percent higher than March and beat a previous record of 9.61 million barrels per day reached in January. For the month of April, total purchases were 39.46 million metric tons.

PLATTS - China ended the first quarter of 2018 with robust apparent oil demand growth of 6.8% year on year, as stronger-than-expected GDP growth boosted consumption from the industrial and construction sectors and outweighed concerns over rising oil prices

PLATTS - Japanese imports of crude oil from Saudi Arabia in March rose 3.4% month on month to an average of 1.29 million b/d, preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released Friday showed.

PLATTS - Vietnam is estimated to have produced 1.01 million mt (246,777 b/d) of crude oil in April, down 11.8% from the same month last year, according to data released Sunday by the General Statistics Office.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - В заключение заседания Александр Новак подчеркнул приверженность сконцентрированной работе, направленной на реализацию достигнутых договоренностей по совместным проектам сотрудничества. «Минэнерго России продолжит и дальше оказывать максимальное содействие проектам российско-японского энергетического сотрудничества. Главное – последовательно наращивать усилия наших министерств, сообща помогать бизнесу в осуществлении коммерческих инициатив», - резюмировал Министр.

МИНЭКОНОМРАЗВИТИЯ РОССИИ - «Энергетика остается наиболее масштабной областью российско-японского экономического сотрудничества», – сообщил Максим Орешкин. Он подчеркнул, что Россия является надёжным партнёром для Японии в области СПГ. В последние годы доля российского газа в общем объеме поставок на рынок Японии находится на уровне не ниже 8%. При этом в январе текущего года Россия поставила на рынок Японии около 667 898 тонн СПГ, заняв пятую строчку среди основных экспортеров СПГ в эту страну, рассказал министр.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «Россия и Китай имеют большой потенциал снижения энергоемкости экономики и проводят последовательную политику в этом направлении. Сотрудничество по вопросам развития энергоэффективных технологий и обмена опытом в сфере госполитики будет, безусловно, способствовать повышения энергоэффективности в наших странах», - отметил в своем выступлении сопредседатель Рабочей группы с российской стороны Антон Инюцын.

EIA - As Asia-Pacific oil demand continues to grow, some market participants believe the region needs an oil price benchmark based on local supply and demand conditions. Last month marked the beginning of trading for the new Shanghai crude oil futures contract in China. For the Shanghai contract to become an accepted regional benchmark, it will have to attract a wide variety of market participants, and its usage for price discovery must be established.

PLATTS - Japan's LNG imports slipped 2.6% year on year to 7.9 million mt in March with imports from Papua New Guinea dropping, Ministry of Finance data released Thursday showed. PNG LNG had shut its plant after a massive earthquake hit the region on February 26. Japan's imports from PNG fell 65.7% from a year ago to 145,580 mt, or about two cargoes, in March.

REUTERS - Russia was China’s largest crude oil supplier in March, data showed on Tuesday, retaining the lead spot for a 13th consecutive month.

REUTERS - global liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports have risen 40 percent since 2015, to almost 40 billion cubic meters (bcm) a month. Growth accelerated in 2017, with imports up by a fifth, largely because of rising demand in China, but also in South Korea and Japan.

REUTERS - Uzbekistan plans to join an $8 billion project to build a natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to India, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on Monday, although it was unclear whether Tashkent might eventually ship gas through it.

PLATTS - India ended the first quarter of 2018 with robust oil products demand growth of 8.5%, the fastest quarterly growth since Q3 2016, as a renewed push on infrastructure projects and surging auto sales lifted gasoline and gasoil consumption.

EIA - The United States exported 97.0 million short tons (MMst) of coal in 2017, a 61% (36.7 MMst) increase from the 2016 level. Exports to Asia more than doubled from 15.7 MMst in 2016 to 32.8 MMst in 2017, although Europe continues to be the largest recipient of U.S. coal exports.

PLATTS - "Our collaboration will be a win-win for all," Pradhan told reporters. Pradhan said India offers attractive oil and gas markets for the US as the country is the fastest-growing large economy, with 8% annual growth in energy consumption.